


Racing the Distance

by Kabal42



Category: Rush (2013)
Genre: Endurance - Freeform, Gen, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-08
Updated: 2013-10-08
Packaged: 2017-12-28 20:57:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/996630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kabal42/pseuds/Kabal42
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which two competitors reflect on how the **** the other can do what he does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Racing the Distance

James looks across the pit area. The crazy Austrian is there, looking every bit as serious as usual, almost as if he didn't just win a bloody Grand Prix. How does he do it? He doesn't look like much, but he works tirelessly. Definitely all work and no fun that one, and James can't get his mind around how someone does that. He hasn't even begun to consider a why; the how is the pivotal thing. How does a man keep going like that? With no breaks, no time to rest, next to no celebration. Yeah, he leaves with his girlfriend each time, and James is sure she's probably good fun (but then, maybe not if she can stand being with _him_ ), but how can that be enough? James would never be able to keep going like that, keep that hard discipline up. Lauda is more stubborn, pig-headed and enduring than anyone he's ever seen – and this is a sport where you have to be able to take a lot to last. 6 hours in a shaking, roaring, bucking tin can on wheels is no mean feat. Yeah, they all think it's a sport for playboys – and he fits the bill – but that's not all it is. Very few realise just what it takes to drive a race, see it through, last those hours on the track, all while keeping your head clear and be ready to pounce when a change appears.  
"You're pigheaded and bullnecked," one of the girls once noted (he's long since forgot her name, but the words stick around), and she's right. There's no other way to do it. Be stubborn enough, physically strong enough, and fast enough. (Mentally, reflexively, personally.) Lauda is frustrating as hell – and he's a mystery. James wants to break that puzzle apart and see how it's made, and then put it back together again, because Lauda is too damned good to lose. As much as he hates to admit it, Lauda belongs on the track, and racing wouldn't be the same without him.

. . .

Hunt is staring again. He does that a lot. Niki doesn't like it when he stares. He can never tell what Hunt might be thinking, what will happen next. He is unpredictable and frankly a liability at least half the time. However, looking at him, Niki wonders how the hell the bastard does it? The man is never serious about anything, and even more, he drinks like there's no tomorrow. Which there is, and tomorrow is important. Tomorrow is preparation for next week, next month, next year. Doing what they do and not taking all the time you can get to be ready is insane. Okay, yes, they are all mad to do this, but Hunt's insanity is in a class of his own.  
Niki turns away and leaves, though he can't help but look again, out of the window of the helicopter. He's still at it, out there, and for a moment he feels a strange surge of emotion, half admiration for Hunt, half shame for himself. If this man can drive almost as well as Niki, and do it on the seat of his pants, with the effects of partying still in his system, is he not, in fact, the better driver? Niki banishes the thought to the place where demons belong, though he keeps hold of a strand that reminds him that the Brit has a stamina that isn't to be toyed with. This is no game, and whatever he is, Hunt is no child. In the end, the race will show who has the ability to last, stick it out even when it gets really rough. Niki tells himself it will be him.


End file.
